Kristin Szakoshttp://www.readthehook.com/taxonomy/term/1303/all
enPeople to watchhttp://www.readthehook.com/109901/people-watch
<p>City</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/cover-dem-kristin-szakos-head.jpg"><img class="fid26122 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/cover-dem-kristin-szakos-head.jpg" border="0" /></a> Kristin Szakos:</strong> While professionally she's been a reporter/writer/translator, community organizing has always been close to the vice mayor's heart— she's written two books about it and her husband runs Virginia Organizing. Early on, she led the local campaign of another community organizer, Barack Obama, and her <a href="http://kristinforcouncil.org/">website photo of the president</a> is not the standard grip-and-grin, but one in which it looks like he actually knows her. Szakos ran for City Council in 2009 and has implemented the popular town hall meetings that take City Council out to the neighborhoods. She's running for council again, and if she's elected, odds are pretty good that she's going to be Charlottesville's next mayor. Pet peeve: Civil War monuments.</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/cover-tomtom-beyer.jpg"><img class="fid25376 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/cover-tomtom-beyer.jpg" style="float: right;" border="0" /></a> Paul Beyer:</strong> When we first heard of the young VP at a local construction company that bears his family name in 2011, he was a 29-year-old running for City Council, and he didn't get the Democratic nomination. Rather than just fading away, Beyer has launched something really cool: The Tom Tom Founder's Festival, an ambitious smorgasbord of music, art, and innovation that he sees as Charlottesville's answer to South by Southwest. In 2012 he debuted a month-long event that used unusual venues for music and included the first McGuffey block party. This year the festival was more tightly honed into a long, powerhouse weekend focused on innovation and supported by UVA's Darden School— and it had a good beat and was easy to dance to. Likes: good design in logos.</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/cover-dem-wes-bellamy3.jpg"><img class="fid26291 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/cover-dem-wes-bellamy3.jpg" border="0" /></a> Wes Bellamy:</strong> Not that we're trying to focus only on people who've run for City Council, but that's how the 26-year-old county teacher garnered more widespread attention beyond his work with a youth mentoring/boxing program called H.Y.P.E.— Helping Young People Evolve. And we're not just talking about his arrest three weeks after announcing his campaign for not showing up in court, a matter that was a mix-up of traffic violations and misunderstandings straightened out before the primary. In any case, Bellamy would be remembered for his rare June 11 tie of 1,088 votes to get on the November ballot, barely losing to Bob Fenwick by five votes. Even without the nomination, we fully expect to hear more from Bellamy. Frequent fashion statement: a bowtie.</p>
<p>County</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/news-steve-sellers-crop.jpg"><img class="fid26902 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/news-steve-sellers-crop.jpg" border="0" /></a> Steve Sellers:</strong> Only the fourth chief since the Albemarle County Police Department was formed in 1983, Sellers has been putting his mark on the agency since he started in 2011. He stresses integrity and ethics for his officers, and they're a lot more likely to get a ticket if they're involved in an accident. More seriously, he's had three officers fire their weapons in the past six months, including one fatal shooting, and takes the stance that there's no rush in letting the public know who the shooters are until all investigations are complete. Meanwhile he's lobbying for a firing range. He prefers to be called "colonel," so keep that in mind when talking to the chief. Pet peeve: embezzling.</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/cover-john-whitehead.jpg"><img class="fid22502 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/cover-john-whitehead.jpg" style="float: right;" border="0" /></a> John Whitehead:</strong> The founder of the civil liberties organization, the Rutherford Institute, has been saying for years that America is developing into a police state, and with recent incidents here, such as the SWAT team arrest for two pot plants, or the ABC sting that put an ice-cream buying coed in jail, people are taking him a lot more seriously. Although he's a lawyer best known for representing people he believes are being oppressed by government (think Paula Jones), Whitehead started the well-regarded, now-defunct popular culture magazine <em>Gadfly</em>, and has been known to pen an article on the Beatles. His most recent book is, no surprise, <em>A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. </em>Pet peeves: SWAT teams, zero-tolerance policies in schools.</p>
<p><strong><a class="colorbox" href="/files/images/field_images/cover-ann-mallek-crop.jpg"><img class="fid26907 imagecache-200px_wide" src="http://www.readthehook.com/files/imagecache/200px_wide/images/field_images/cover-ann-mallek-crop.jpg" border="0" /></a> Ann Mallek:</strong> The chair of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors is a farmer, so don't be surprised to hear her apologize for not returning a call because a cow was calving. She's a county native who has a firm, courteous manner in running the board meetings— yet she's not afraid to play hardball, which explains why she's serving her fourth year as chair in what has traditionally been a two-year gig, sort of a payback for the notorious so-called "midnight vote" by her Republican colleagues that resurrected the controversial Western 29 bypass in a rare parliamentary procedure that caught Mallek offguard. Likes: swing, square dancing.</p>
<p><em>Correction 8/2/2013: Steve Sellers is the fourth Albemarle police chief, not the third as originally reported.</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109901/people-watch#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedann mallekjohn whiteheadKristin Szakospaul beyersteve sellerswes bellamyAnnual ManualWed, 17 Jul 2013 18:56:05 +0000Hook Staff109901 at http://www.readthehook.comKristin's picks: Szakos endorses Galvin, Hujahttp://www.readthehook.com/100230/szakos-endorses-galvin-huja
<p>Five days before the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/99327/minority-rule-dems-duke-it-out">Dems pick three candidates</a> for City Council, Kristin Szakos has named her choices to join her on the dais at City Hall: fellow Councilor Satyendra Huja and School Board member Kathy Galvin.</p>
<p>"It was hard to narrow it down to three," says Szakos, who opted to name only two choices. She cites Huja's nearly 40 years of city government experience and Galvin's expertise in education, planning, and smart neighborhood development.</p>
<p>And while <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/70141/norris-and-szakos-we-bikes">Szakos campaigned with Mayor Dave Norris in 2009</a>, two years later they're not on the same page in their preferences for City Council. Norris has given the nod to candidates Colette Blount, Brevy Cannon and Dede Smith.</p>
<p>Paul Beyer and James Halfaday complete the field of seven Dems seeking their party's nomination for City Council, and another five independents hope to garner votes in November.</p>
<p>The August 20 primary also will determine the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/90506/top-clerk-3-candidates-vye-garretts-job">Democratic nominee for clerk of court</a>, an eight-year, $112K job, with incumbent Paul Garrett trying to fend off challengers Llezelle Dugger and Pam Melampy.</p>
<p>The firehouse <a href="http://www.cvilledems.org/">primary will be held Saturday</a>, August 20, from 9am to 7pm at Burley Middle School on Rose Hill Drive, and any registered voter who <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/72652/firehouse-primary-dems-try-out-new-nom-process">signs a pledge to support the Dem candidates</a> can cast a ballot.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/100230/szakos-endorses-galvin-huja#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedGovt/Politicsdemocratic primarykathy galvinKristin Szakossatyendra hujaNewsMon, 15 Aug 2011 16:13:49 +0000lisa100230 at http://www.readthehook.comComprender? Complaint brings Huja confidence votehttp://www.readthehook.com/99978/public-comment-complaint-brings-vote-confidence-huja
<p>It was business as usual during public comment at the July 18<a href="http://charlottesville.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2"> City Council meeting</a>, until one citizen veered from typical issues, such as the Meadowcreek Parkway and the water plan, to raise a new concern, one that stunned councilors and led to accusations of xenophobia, government stifling of free speech, and a parliamentary vote of confidence.</p>
<p>City Council regular Pat Napoleon had finished her comments about the Parkway and used the rest of her three minutes to address another matter:</p>
<p>"I must relay a serious concern relating to a sitting member of Council," said Napoleon. "Others and I have been unable to understand Mr. <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/files/old/stories/2003/03/13/hotSeatMrexitStrategyNoMor.html">[Satyendra] Huja</a>'s comments at City Council meetings and forums for years. It is the right of citizens to hear and comprehend what is going on during official meetings."</p>
<p>Huja, former Charlottesville director of strategic planning, worked for the city for 27 years and was instrumental in creating the Charlottesville of today with its Downtown Mall, flowers, and trees. He was born in India 69 years ago, elected to City Council in 2007, and seeks a second term at the August 20 Democratic firehouse primary.</p>
<p>Napoleon suggests that any elected officials who could not be understood should hire a translator at their own expense.</p>
<p>"It is crucial citizens understand all that is discussed," said Napoleon, as she opened a floodgate of criticism.</p>
<p>Ten minutes later, former Nature Conservancy head Ridge Schuyler declared, "I was offended by the comments about Mr. Huja, and I do not share them, and I think a lot of people don't share them; and I find them offensive."</p>
<p>"I agree," said Mayor Dave Norris.</p>
<p>"We don't normally have such xenophobic comments," said Councilor Kristin Szakos, apologizing to a delegation of visiting Afghani women. "I'm embarrassed."</p>
<p>"I also do not support the sentiments expressed," echoed Councilor Holly Edwards, who called for a measure more usually seen in the British Parliament than in American local government: a vote of confidence for Huja. Council unanimously approved the vote, which was followed by applause.</p>
<p>That was not the end of the matter.</p>
<p>At the August 1 meeting, resident Richard Statman read the First Amendment and reminded councilors that citizen comments are protected speech and councilors "should never hint at a climate of restraining free speech or characterize public comments in a way that silences First Amendment protections," he said.</p>
<p>"The greatest threat to free speech," continued Statman, "is the government, whose representatives seek to impose, control, or guide the general discourse for what they believe is the public good."</p>
<p>Napoleon returned to the podium to complain that her concerns about not fully understanding Huja had been "inaccurately, improperly and unjustifiably" mischaracterized by Szakos as xenophobic&#8211; the fear or hatred of foreigners.</p>
<p>"I did not make any personal attacks, any type of reference to accent, etcetera," said Napoleon, who, a few days after the meeting, is still steamed about being labeled a xenophobe.</p>
<p>"I think she was trying to intimidate me," says Napoleon.</p>
<p>And Szakos' opinion?</p>
<p>"It was certainly rude," says Szakos, though she adds that she will be more mindful about remarks from the councilors' dais that could be seen as stifling free speech.</p>
<p>"I think the fact that someone has an accent shouldn't disqualify them from public office," says Szakos, while acknowledging that Huja can sometimes be hard to understand.</p>
<p>It turns out that Napoleon wasn't the first to point that out. Taped to the back of Huja's nameplate on the dais are three words in block letters, "SLOW AND CLEAR."</p>
<p>"I do have an accent," says Huja. "I'm trying to do better."</p>
<p>Huja says he regrets that Napoleon was unable to understand him, but he also felt an uncomfortable overtone in the remarks. "Her tone," he says, "was very unpleasant."</p>
<p>He also questions the timing, coming a month before the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/99327/minority-rule-dems-duke-it-out">August 20 firehouse primary</a>&#8211; and the <em>Hook</em> doing a story about the issue.</p>
<p>"I think it casts doubt on my ability to be a city councilor," he says. "Most people understand me fairly well. I've been doing public speaking the last 38 years in Charlottesville. I do the best I can."</p>
<p>Mayor Norris thinks it was Napoleon's suggestion to get a translator that made councilors see it as a reflection on Huja's ethnicity.</p>
<p>"In that moment, we all took Pat's comments in a way she didn't intend," says Norris, adding, "I've never questioned Mr. Huja's ability to serve this community."</p>
<p>The vote of confidence was a first in Norris' experience on Council. "I wasn't sure what it meant," says Norris, although he voted for it.</p>
<p>Norris says that he later asked Holly Edwards, who did not return a phone call from the <em>Hook</em>, about the vote of confidence, and she said she'd seen it done at a Rivanna Water &amp; Sewer Authority meeting after its director, Tom Frederick, had been lambasted by a speaker.</p>
<p>"Misguided," is how another Council regular, Richard Lloyd, describes the vote of confidence. In a representative democracy, elected members don't affirm themselves, explains Lloyd. That's done by the voters."Huja represents the people; he doesn't represent the Council," says Lloyd.</p>
<p>Huja has improved his clarity, says Lloyd, who wonders what Council is going to do about this now-admitted comprehension situation.</p>
<p>"It would be nice," says Lloyd, "if they said 'If you don't understand, please raise your hand.'"</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/99978/public-comment-complaint-brings-vote-confidence-huja#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedGovt/Politicscity councilKristin Szakospat napoleonsatyendra hujaNewsFri, 05 Aug 2011 19:57:16 +0000lisa99978 at http://www.readthehook.comNorris and Szakos: We like bikeshttp://www.readthehook.com/70141/norris-and-szakos-we-bikes
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-szakos-norris-med.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-szakos-norris-med.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-19737" title="news-szakos-norris-med" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-szakos-norris-med-325x234.jpg" alt="news-szakos-norris-med" width="325" height="234" /></a><strong>Council candidates Kristin Szakos and Mayor Dave Norris unveil their bike and pedestrian safety platform.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE</small></div>
<p>Remember the short-lived <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2002/03/28/questionOfTheWeekWhatDoYou.html">yellow bike program</a> in 2002, when the city backed free bikes that <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2002/06/27/bnewsBikesInHidingWhereHav.html">disappeared in short order</a>?<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Despite such innovative ideas, for a progressive city, Charlottesville gets below-average ratings nationally in its accommodations of bicycle and pedestrian traffic, say the two <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/12/new-blood-firehouse-primary-ousts-taliaferro/">Democratic City Council candidates</a>.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Mayor Dave Norris and <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/04/02/HOTSEAT-kristin-szakos-A.aspx">Kristin Szakos</a> unveiled their bike and pedestrian platform at a September 24 press conference, and called for painting the bike lanes green, adding showers at the Transit Center and fixing sidewalks, among a dozen or so proposals.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">'This is the issue we hear about all the time," says Norris. "People want to be able to get around Charlottesville without cars."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Szakos points to the crumbly sidewalks around Tonsler Park that are unsafe for wheelchairs and strollers. "People are very concerned about the lack of safe ways to get around," she says.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The two touted a study by the nonprofit BikeWalk Virginia that actually gave Charlottesville a much lower score than Albemarle in its Virginia Active Transportation Index.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Besides green bike lanes, other implementable improvements, according to the candidates, include improved signage, new safety committees, more business-installed bike racks, and a law mandating helmets for bikers 14 and younger.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The duo calls for double penalties for city employees who don't stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, and they suggest better sensors at intersections so cyclists don't fossilize while waiting all day for a light to turn green.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The boldest plank on the platform (also endorsed by the Democratic candidate for sheriff, James E. Brown)&#8211;- at least for Virginia&#8211;- would be cross-city trails, says Szakos. That would allow commuting by foot or bike and literally get people off the roads. Finishing the Rivanna Trail is another goal.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The Dems dusted off the Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan of 2003. "This is an amazing document," says Szakos.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Nationally, Charlottesville is left in the dust by cities like Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado, the latter of which has pedestrian and bike-only trails. "Everyone uses them," says Norris.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Independent candidate Paul Long has made city transit one of his issues, and says the area needs better bus service.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Indy candidate Bob Fenwick calls the Democratic platform a small first step. "Why nibble around the edges?" he asks. "They really could make a difference by stopping the Meadowcreek Parkway."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Ironically, neither of the two Council candidates walked or biked to their own press conference, which was held at the IGA grocery on Cherry Avenue.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I carpooled," says Szakos. "There's really no safe way to get here on a bike."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/70141/norris-and-szakos-we-bikes#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedGovt/PoliticsTrafficbikecity council candidatesDave NorrisKristin SzakostransportationThu, 24 Sep 2009 18:46:41 +0000lisa70141 at http://www.readthehook.com